


Atlantis Writhing

by TirNanOg89



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 21:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8939338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TirNanOg89/pseuds/TirNanOg89
Summary: Authors note: A huge thank you to fanarts_series (http://fanarts-series.livejournal.com/148198.html)who gets all credit for the lovely art work as well as the idea, and inspired me with said amazing pictures and a few words.Warnings: AU after ‘The Storm/Eye’Disclaimer: Don’t own, don’t sue. READ the WARNINGS!!!Summery: They say that travel changes you, well, you can’t travel much further than Atlantis, and she really does change them.





	

Rodney was a man of Science, he worked with facts, but before facts were proven there had to be hypothesis, an idea that could then be investigated and proven or disproved, it didn’t matter which, just that a conclusion was eventually found, that was what science was at its very core, learning more. So, when strange things happened Rodney didn’t ignore them, he didn’t run around screaming hysterically, he investigated and found out what the hell was going on. Which is why he was the first to realise there was something amiss, something changing, but by the time he figured out what, it was too late to do anything but accept it and make the most of it. 

The first anomaly was the flash of bright orange light that had flooded Atlantis not moments after the wormhole had shut down after they had first arrived. Everyone had been shocked, and even more so when they couldn’t figure out why it had happened or what it had done, which as far as they could tell at the time had been nothing, so most had eventually put it out of their minds and forgot all about the little mystery, but not Rodney, or Major Sheppard apparently, as he found out months later. Then Carson had developed his Gene Therapy, and two days after every person there had been given the therapy the orange light flooded Atlantis again, in the middle of the night, and almost went unnoticed except Rodney was awake and saw it, and he never ignored anything as mysterious as that. Unfortunately for his own peace of mind Rodney still couldn’t find any explanation for the light, and not knowing when the last of the Gene Therapy had been given, he didn’t connect the two until much later.

Surprisingly, it was Sheppard who first connected the light and the Gene. Atlantis was caught in a Perfect Storm and attacked by the Genii while at their most vulnerable, and two of his men were killed in cold blood by people they were trying to help. That would have been enough to piss John off, then Kolya had to not only threaten, but actually did physical damage to Rodney. Now Rodney may not be one to get along with many people, but nor was John. Rodney kept everyone at a distance with his loud, abrasive honesty and demands for everyone’s best, whether they were replacing a screw or rewriting physics, he always gave his very best at everything he did and he expected the same from others, though he rarely got it. John kept everyone at bay with a cool but easy, laid-back attitude, letting everyone think they knew him when in reality they knew nothing but the thin veneer he projected to keep them away. Somehow the two of them managed to smooth each other out, fill each others blanks and cover each others backs almost from the beginning, so though they both got on with some of the others quite well, most notably Teyla, Radek and Carson, they were the only true friend each other had, and John had never been able to leave someone he liked, let alone a friend, in danger.

John’s problem with the whole debacle was that he knew his self, he knew his training, limits and experience as well as any military person did, and while he was a very well (some might say over) trained and highly decorated officer, that being the only reason he was sent to McMurdo to cool his heals with a black mark rather than being discharged as his CO of the time had wanted, he really shouldn’t have been able to deal with the Genii as quickly and easily as he had, and though he was a damn good shot, putting a bullet between Kolya’s eyes as he was trying to leave with Elisabeth was a one in a million shot that he should never have been able to make. All of which started him to thinking, wondering at the change in his self that he had been noticing since they got to Atlantis, thinking about the strangely haunting yet comforting, flying dreams he had been having, and how they had changed since the night of the second Flash. He thought about it long and hard before he finally gave in and talked to Rodney about the whole situation. 

They had, for once, had a reasonably quiet day with no major incidents or crises, Rodney had just finished his latest project and was content enough that he had invited the team to his room to watch a film after they had finished their evening meal. John couldn’t help but be pleased that Teyla had a meeting with Weir arranged and Ford had planned a sparing contest with a group of the Marines, so it was just the two of them. Once they were comfortably settled on Rodney’s bed John cleared his throat carefully.

“Rodney.”  
“What? I’m going as fast as I can here.”  
“Um, do you think… I mean could we… um.”  
“Major, I know they don’t hire for brains in the Air Force but you are not generally this brain dead, use your words!”

John took a deep breath then blew it out fast before starting again.

“I’ve been having really weird dreams since we got here and they got weirder after the second Flash and I think Atlantis has fucked with the ATA gene and done something to us all.”

Rodney just looked at him for a long while, running that rushed, run on, blurted sentence through all he had managed to find out about the so-called Flash. 

“Huh. So the first one was when we got here and would have affected all the natural genes, the second was after Carson started his therapy.”  
“Finished it, I checked, he gave the last dose two days before the second Flash.”  
“Right, which lends weight to your hypotheses. So what do you think its done and what does it have to do with your dreams?”  
“Yeah, this is where I start sounding nuts.”  
“Start? You’ve ‘been’ nuts since before I met you, don’t let it hold you back now.”  
“Thanks. So, since the first night we were here I’ve been having these really cool dreams where I’m flying.”  
“Not unusual for a pilot I wouldn’t think.”  
“Are you gonna listen or should I just leave now?”  
“Keep your hair on, I’m listening.”  
“Thank you! I’m not flying ‘something’, ‘I’ am flying! With my own wings! I can’t see my self but I can feel it, and I’m not human any more, I can feel my tail as well as my wings. It was always the same dream, flying over the ocean, heading for home, Atlantis calling me home, I can feel her more every day, like she’s getting stronger, I don’t know, but as I get close enough to see her, I can hear her calling me home, welcoming me back and telling me all’s well, everyone’s safe. But then it changed the night after the second Flash, because you… now someone else is there, and I can see them. I know this is completely insane but it’s every night! Every time I close my eyes I see you, flying next to me and I know it’s you, right down to my bones I ‘know’, and you’re a dragon.”

Rodney took a while to let that sink in. At first he wanted to laugh, mock, dismiss it all as a joke or incipient insanity, but he couldn’t do that to John, not without a fair shot at trying to understand it first.

“Ok, first off, what do I look like?”  
“Um, a bloody great stone grey dragon with bright blue eyes.”  
“Scaly?”  
“No, more leathery, or stony kinda.”  
“Blue eyes?”  
“Yeah, they’re your eyes, just in a bigger face.”  
“How big?”  
“Not really sure. Not much to judge against, I can only just see Atlantis on the horizon, but about the same size as me I think. Sorry, not very precise.”  
“Not your fault, dreams can’t possibly be the easiest place to measure anything, least of all while flying over an ocean. So, the real question is, do you think this is metaphorical or some kind of warning or heads-up of what’s to come?”  
“I don’t know. While I’m dreaming, I know that’s my body, my wings, my tail, and its all mine and real and natural, and you are too, you’re real and natural and mine and Atlantis is welcoming us home and it’s ‘safe’, she’s ‘home’! she’s as much a part of us as we are of her, that’s why she gave us this gift, to protect us and her and everyone else in Pegasus.”

Rodney was fairly sure John didn’t have a clue what he was saying any more, his eyes were glazed over, almost like he was sleep walking, or talking anyway, though the very emphatic and possessive ‘mine’ had gone straight to his heart, after a quick detour to his cock, and he would be bringing it up(pun totally intended) later.

“Because that’s why they designed the mutation, to take out the Wraith once and for all but it never worked with their genes, she only tried it with us out of desperation, but it worked, it just needed that spark of humanity to finish it off and let us fix what they fucked over when they created the Wraith in the first place.”

John stopped suddenly, his eyes flying wide as he shook his self and zeroed in on Rodney.

“They made the Wraith! The bastards experimented on ‘lower species’ and those fucking bugs to make the Wraith! Then they threw them away and ignored them until they got too strong to fight and then ran away Rodney! The fucking bastards left them here to eat everyone and just ran away!”

Rodney had never heard Sheppard raise his voice outside of battle, let alone swear, and the way his breathing was speeding up and his skin was going grey were not good signs in anyone’s imagination, nor was the way he had started shaking, and he wasn’t even going to think about how he knew the things he had just been saying, because that would just be a step too far right now.

“Sheppard! Breath! I need you to calm down and breath ok? Can you do that for me? Just calm down and breath, don’t think, just breath. McKay to Beckett, Carson I need you in my quarters yesterday! Just you and a sedative, now!”  
“Rodney?”  
“Don’t ask, just get here! McKay out. Ok John, Carson’s on his way so just keep breathing ok?”

Rodney had never been so glad for his strange natural ability to go completely calm when someone around him lost it, he had seen so many people loose their shit only to have everyone around them follow along and drag the whole situation down the creek, and was always grateful for his own cool in those situations. Seeing the almost preternaturally laid-back Major, who was scared of nothing or at least never allowed it to show, loose it should have been enough to send him over the edge, but he just pulled him closer on the bed so he could run a soothing hand up and down his back, wondering what the hell he was seeing or hearing in his own mind to prompt this, and where it was coming from. 

Carson arrived running and ready to work, in less than five minutes, the door opening automatically for him, and came straight to them, talking softly to let John know he was there, taking his pulse as he looked him over.

“All right lad, what’s going on then? You don’t look so good, but I see Rodney’s taking good care of you. Can you look at me lad? There you go, good lad, now can you speak? Can you tell me my name lad?”

For a long while he thought John would remain silent, and shared a worried glance with Rodney, but when he looked back down he saw him gulp before he finally spoke.

“They made the Wraith Carson, she showed me everything, they made them and then ran away, they left everyone to be ‘eaten’ Carson!”

Carson didn’t need to wonder why Rodney had called him, if the way John looked hadn't been enough, the tears streaming down his face at that broken assertion would have been. The Major was not an emotional or demonstrative man, so to break down like this in front of anyone was not a good sign, but at least it was in private. What he had said was equally worrying but that could be dealt with later, once John was calm.

“Ok lad, ok. What can I do, right now, to help? How can I help you John?”  
“We have to kill them all Carson, exterminate them, we can do it, the Writhing can do it, four of us could take a Hive in low orbit, its what they designed us for. Bastards got one thing right at least. We need to get the others for a Gathering, we need to train, work together, I know you’re a healer but you have to work with us on this Carson, we all need each other, we are the strength of the Writhing, each of us and all together, we can kill them all.”

Carson looked less than happy at any of that, first off he didn’t have a damn clue what John was talking about, other than the obvious references to killing all of the Wraith, which he wasn’t particularly happy about, genocide was really not something he wanted to consider, but on top of that John was sounding more than a little manic, but at least the tears had stopped. He looked at Rodney only to find him looking just as clueless and unhappy.

“Ok lad. How about you take a nap for now, you get a good rest then we can talk, get something planned eh? Now, do you think you can sleep or do you want me to give you something?”  
“I can’t sleep Carson, she wont shut up, it’s like a flood only its not ending!”  
“Ok, I’ll give you a shot lad, then we can talk later, don’t worry, you just have to sleep for me, that’s all.”  
“I don’t want to sleep, there’s no time, we have to gather the Writhing, they’re almost strong enough now, almost finished, another night and they’ll all be able to hear her. She’s so close Carson, we need to get O’Neill here, he’d hear her, he’d take the change fast like I have, we have to get him here, Rodney, tell Weir we need him, and any ATA he can find, they have to come now, we know it works so we can bring them all now. We can protect them now Carson! We can protect Atlantis and the Athosians and Earth, we can protect ourselves! I don’t have to loose any more!”  
“Oh lad, you have nay lost anyone, they were taken from us, but it wasn’t your fault lad.”  
“I wasn’t good enough Carson, I couldn’t protect them, it was my fault, but I can now, I’ll be strong enough to protect them now, the Writhing can protect everyone!”  
“Nothing can save everyone lad, people will always die.”  
“No!”

John threw his self off the bed, pacing around the room as he got more wound up and Carson and Rodney got more worried.

“No! I wont let any more die! I’ll be faster, and stronger, I’ll be able to protect them, I’ll be good enough now, I swear I will! You know I will Rodney, tell him! You know I will! I just wasn’t fast enough, that’s all! But I will be now, I will! I swear I will, I will be good enough now, I will, please, I will, I’ll be good enough! Please!”

Neither of the others could take any more, seeing John break down in front of them, realising how personally accountable he held his self for every loss they had had was heart breaking. Carson stepped in front of him as he paced, pulling him into a tight hug even as Rodney stepped up behind him and they surrounded him in their warmth and comfort, doing their best to just be there for a long moment, until Carson bought the syringe out of his pocket and carefully dosed him with the heavy duty sedative. Carson knew it was the right choice when John slipped under without even realising he had been drugged, he was so distraught. When he went limp in their embrace they carefully carried him to the bed and laid him out comfortably. By the time they were done Rodney looked almost as distraught as John had.

“What do we do now? If we tell Elisabeth she’ll take him off duty and then he’ll just have more time to panic about what he could have done if he’d been there!”  
“The break might do him some good Rodney, along with a lot of time with Heightmeyer”  
“That’ll kill him Carson! You can’t do that to him! They’ll all think he’s completely lost the plot when he starts talking about dragons!”  
“Dragons?”  
“Yes! What else did you think he meant? It’s these stupid dreams he’s been having, only the timing is enough to make me wonder. He was telling me all about these dreams he’s been having of his self flying over the ocean, and he couldn’t see his self but he could feel his wings and tail, then after the second Flash the dream changed, and I was flying with him only I’m a dragon. I know it all sounds like so much mumbo jumbo, but he had some good points before he lost it. We were talking about the dreams and he was saying how Atlantis feels welcoming, like she’s calling him, or us, home when he just heads off into a rant about the Ancients ‘making’ the Wraith, something to do with lower species and those ‘fucking bugs’ which I assume is the Iratus bug, and experiments, then them running away and leaving everyone to get eaten, but it was like he wasn’t really here when he was talking, he was all glazed over and distant, then he went white and started shaking so I called you. Thing is, we both know it sounds mental but it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that’s happened in this screwed up galaxy. I don’t want anyone finding out about this before we can understand it our selves, maybe he’s just exhausted and too stressed out and having a mental breakdown, and if he is we can put him on medical leave and look after him, but we can’t let anyone use this against him, and he still might be right.”  
“Really? He thinks we’re all dragons!”  
“Only the ATA positive. Wow, that sounds like some kind of disease when you say it like that, um, carriers would be even worse, anyway, I think it could be metaphorical maybe? I don’t know, it’s the Ancients, they made exploding tumours and probably the Wraith! Who knows what else they might have come up with?”  
“Ok, I’ll give you all of that, so, from what I can see he isn’t in any physical danger right now, and he’ll sleep for a good eight hours after that injection, so if I come back in seven hours to be here when he wakes up, can you keep an eye on him until then? I would stay but I didn’t sleep last night and I am shattered.”

Rodney looked him over for the first time since he had arrived and realised he did look about ready to drop.

“I’m sorry Carson, I didn’t realise. Go on, get some sleep and come back when you can, we’ll be fine, go on, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Carson left, walking to his own quarters slowly while he thought everything over. John had obviously been in a bad place, he worked much harder than the military generally pushed their people like everyone else in the city, they were constantly on alert which was exhausting in its self, and he was the military commander and clearly held his self responsible for everyone’s safety, which was far from good, and now this thing with the dragons and the dreams, it was all pointing in a very worrying direction, but the last thing he wanted to do was make it worse as Rodney thought a major intervention would. He resolved to wait until morning, talk to John once they had both slept, and make a decision from there. He only hoped it was the right choice. 

********

Carson didn’t make it eight hours. Less than five hours later he was back at Rodney’s door, eyes bright and feeling more than a little jittery. Rodney opened the door with a mighty frown, plainly not happy to be disturbed, but Carson barged straight past him to John’s side, watching as he shifted in his sleep, moving closer to waking every moment.

“Good morning to you too.”  
“I had the dream Rodney, I was flying over the ocean, I could see Atlantis on the horizon, and I was surrounded by the others, the Major was leading the Writhing and you were right next to him, there were a dozen and more of us Rodney! It had to be every ATA in the city, and she was calling us home! I know how dreams work Rodney, you can’t ‘catch’ them, you can’t share them without outside intervention, and you don’t copy them that closely just because you heard someone talk about theirs. So how the hell am I having the same dream?”  
“Don’t look at me, I haven't slept, I’ve been watching over him and working on the sewage problem. Ask one of the other ATA.”  
“Oh yes, because that wont sound mental at all will it? ‘by the way Sergeant Markham, did you dream you were a dragon last night?’.”  
“Oh for crying out loud Carson! McKay to Kusanagi, Miko, what did you dream last night?”  
“Dr McKay?”  
“Yes, yes, just answer the question!”  
“Yes Dr McKay, I dream I am flying with dragons last night.”  
“Get all the ATA, natural and Carson’s, I want all of them in that lounge by my lab in an hour.”

Rodney disconnected the radio and looked at Carson, they were both too pragmatic to try to fight that kind of evidence. Carson sighed.

“Well, now we just need to know if it’s literal or figurative.”  
“Think I can get odds on it being literal? Sheppard’s convinced, so that’s good enough for me until he’s proven wrong. So are you waking him up?”  
“I’ll go to his quarters and get him some clean clothes, be right back!”  
“Coward!”

Rodney shouted after him as he ran out the door, though he couldn’t keep the smile off his face while he did. He turned back to the bed and realised, quite happily, that no one would have to wake Sheppard after all, because he was awake and glaring right at him, and he didn’t look too happy. Rodney thought back to the night before and realised why he might not be too impressed with them and started babbling.

“It wasn’t my idea! And you needed the sleep, and it wasn’t like anyone was going to believe you anyway, you were raving like a mad man and sounded mental, and Carson needed the sleep too, and now they’ve all had the dream so they have to believe you, or Miko and Carson have anyway so the others probably have so I told her to get them all together in an hour, so go shower, we don’t have time for your whining!”

With that he stomped forward, grabbed John by the arm and practically dragged him out of the bed, towing him straight to the shower.

“Carson’s gone to get you some clothes so hurry!”

Then he stomped back out of the room, the door shutting silently behind him, leaving John staring in bemused shock. John decided a shower sounded heavenly after being drugged to top off the lousy week he’d just endured, and it gave him an excuse to hide from Rodney and Carson after humiliating his self with that break down the night before, he just hoped he could keep up the angry act for long enough that they both forgot everything he had said and done, though he didn’t hold out much hope considering who they were. He stripped off and stepped into the shower, which came on at the perfect temperature as always, and quickly washed before just standing under the pounding spray and letting his mind go as blank as he could, which was when she started talking to him.

Three quarters of an hour after he had left John in the bathroom, long after Carson had returned with his clean clothes, they both started to worry. Rodney having shared post mission showers, and Carson having sent him for more than one shower while he was in the infirmary, both men knew that John was military all over and rarely took more than five minutes under the water and ten in total for a shower unless he was physically hampered, and not much longer then, so forty five minutes was almost unthinkable. Carson sighed and let his self into the bathroom.

“John? Are you ok lad?”

He got no reply, so he pulled aside the curtain, shaking his head as he told the shower to turn off. John was sat pressed into the corner, arms covering his head on his drawn up knees.

“Oh lad, come on, lets get you dry shall we? I think you could do with about a week of sleep couldn’t you lad? I’m just going to get a towel, get you dry ok? Whoa!”

Carson jumped back as warm air started blowing through the shower area, and it must have hit something unexpected as John was almost instantly on his feet, a surprised and not all together happy look on his face, but he was completely dry moments later, and it saved Carson trying to get him upright. Then John started paying attention, and glared at Carson before brushing past him to grab his clothes and get dressed, all without a word. Carson sighed again.

“You know I really didn’t have a choice lad, you were clearly exhausted and talking what sounded like gibberish. Rodney and I discussed it and decided not to do anything official until this morning, but I couldn’t have left you like that, not for anything. At least now we know it’s not just you.”  
“Awesome.”

Was his scathing reply, but looking John closely in the eye Carson realised the man wasn’t really all that angry, he was mostly embarrassed and scared, and still not all that far off exhaustion. John turned away and stormed out of the room, barely glancing at Rodney before leaving the room, heading straight to the nearest transporter. Rodney and Carson were both shocked when they piled into the transporter behind him and the doors closed without any of them touching the destination map, they were more surprised when the doors opened again just off Rodney’s lab and John immediately turned the opposite direction and went straight to the lounge where everyone was waiting for them. John caught sight of Rodney’s incredulous stare and shrugged.

“She told me. Alright, listen up!”

Everyone went silent as he took a moment to take in the faces of this first Atlantis Writhing, the scientists, Rodney, Carson, Miko, Abrams, Simpson and Grodin, and his own people, Griffin, Markham, Stackhouse, Edison, Miller, Smith, Crown and the technicians Chuck and Dumais, all 13 of them looking to John, Carson and Rodney for explanations. John took a deep breath and tried to give them one.

“Remember we’re in Pegasus.”

Which just about covered any amount of weird shit hitting any number of fans.

“When the first Flash hit us after we arrived I started dreaming of flying over the ocean towards Atlantis, that didn’t change until the second Flash, which hit two days after Carson finished treating everyone with the Gene Therapy. After that I wasn’t flying alone any more. I think last night you all finished changing, and I think we all had the same dream, of all of us flying home to Atlantis, the whole Writhing. Can any of you honestly tell me you didn’t have that dream?”

John waited for a full minute, looking each of his new Writhing in the eye as they all stayed silent, as he had known they would. He nodded and continued.

“I know not all of you are military, not all of you want to fight, or ever did, so I’m sorry, and I will try to leave you in peace as much as I can, but we are all going to have to train, all of us together, so that if any one of us is called on to protect Atlantis then we all know we can. Anyone who isn’t already on a Gate team wont be asked to join one, but if you decide you want to I will make a place for you.”  
“Sir?”

Sergeant Boyan Stackhouse shifted almost nervously as he spoke up.

“Yeah Stacks?”  
“Are we thinking this is literal? Cause I can feel the Separation from Active Duty coming on just thinking about this shit!”

John snorted trying not to laugh, but he couldn’t hide the smile.

“Yeah I know, think how I felt last night when the CMO sedated me without warning after I started ranting at him about it?”

Everyone flinched at that thought, and all the military personnel cringed at the thought of being seen by the CMO like that, knowing just how fast that could lead to a Medical Discharge.

“So, now we can all breath because we’re not alone. And yeah, I really think this is literal, but I suppose that could just be because I’ve been having these dreams for months, so I wont be jumping out of any windows to find out just yet. Has Atlantis spoken to any of you yet?”  
“She was calling us home, but I don’t remember any actual words Sir.”  
“Thanks Markham, anyone get any more?” 

He waited another moment just in case.

“Ok, she is really pushing me to go out to the pier right now, so, field trip! Follow me.”

There was a lot of muttering and even a bit of giggling going on as they all obediently followed him to the nearest pier and made their way out into the open. There was more than plenty of room, the pier’s were all huge and largely ignored except for the occasional sunbather. They all stood around for a long moment before looking to John expectantly. John was frowning at the floor towards the centre of the pier, ignoring them all, then his face lit up and he gasped as there was a loud mechanical clunk followed by the sound of something huge moving. They all looked towards the noise and saw the pier opening right down the middle, showing a swiftly moving ‘river’ flowing towards the city, and teeming with fish. It didn’t take Rodney long to figure out the ‘river’ split in two when it hit the city proper, to flow around the edges of the central hub to join back together on the other side in a matching ‘river’ on the opposite pier, giving them an easy and renewable source of fresh fish. John snorted.

“Hope no one’s vegetarian, cause I’m pretty sure we just got converted to piscivores. The Mess should be happy with the new fresh ingredients though.”  
“Ha, ha, very funny Major but…”

Rodney never had the chance to finish his sentence, John stood up very straight suddenly, cracking his neck from side to side and started pulling off his uniform as he interrupted.

“Just a thought, but I don’t have enough clothes to rip up a full set for the fun of it. No time to be shy people, lose what you can before it gets trashed! Fuck!”

John had been stripping as he spoke, and it was a good thing he was so fast at it, because as he was pushing his boots off with his trousers and boxers he started shaking, writhing around like he had an itch he just couldn’t reach, then he threw his head back as he shimmered out of view for a moment, only to come back into focus with a roar, shaking his self from his snout to the tip of his tail. Everyone stared at the dragon stood in place of their Military Commander in stunned awe, taking in his shear size, his head standing over twice as high off the ground as any of the human shaped people there. Rodney noticed just how much he resembled a Horned Lizard, with similar scales and what looked like a crown of horns on his head, even his colouring wasn’t far off, being almost roan where he wasn’t grey/brown. 

There wasn’t much time to admire him as one by one the rest of the Writhing began to shift. The pier began looking a lot less spacious as it slowly filled with sixteen dragons. It was soon obvious why a group of dragons was called a Writhing, not one of them could stand still for more than a moment, they were constantly shifting and rubbing up against each other, scenting and marking each other as they milled around quietly, learning their selves and each other. Once John was sure he had fully imprinted every member of the Writhing he made his way to the ‘river’, understanding why Atlantis had sent them here to change, because he was starving! It didn’t take long for the others to all join in, swiping a paw through the teeming waters and flicking a fish high in the air before catching it, or just thrusting their heads into the water to see what was too slow to escape. 

Unfortunately the peace didn’t last long, as a contingent of Marines lead by Ford hammered out the nearest door aiming P90’s at them. John sighed and shook his head.

“Why the hell would you bring everyone out into an unsecured, open area with no cover to face off against more than a dozen unknowns more than twice the size of an elephant? How have I not taught you better than that by now Ford?”

Ford’s jaw dropped in shock as John smirked at him. John was proud of the fact that nobody shot anyone or dropped their guns in surprise, so there was that.

“Sir?”  
“Yes?”  
“Major Sheppard?”  
“Still yes Lieutenant Ford. I know, kinda took us by surprise too. Pretty sure we’ll be able to turn back once we’ve eaten properly, but I’m starving, so if you don’t mind, I’m just gonna go back to breakfast. Don’t watch if you’re squeamish!”

With that he turned his back on his armed men and swiped another fish out of the ‘river’, the others joining him again. Ford just stood in stunned horror as the implications started dawning on him, he was Sheppard’s Second in Command, Sheppard was beyond compromised, which meant he was, technically, in charge as of right now. For a moment the idea of his own command ran through his head along side visions of promotions and stars on his shoulders, then reality crashed back down on him and he realised he wouldn’t have a clue how to run the base, and sure as hell didn’t have the respect needed by a CO from the other men, especially as most of the Sergeants were older than him and kinda treated him like a puppy, which he had never objected to, he generally got his own way because they humoured him, so he liked it, and it meant he could hang out with the other guys instead of having to hold his self above them like Sheppard had to as CO. 

Which all made him stop and think, because though the team usually shared at least one meal a day, the rest of his free time he spent with the other Marines, Teyla kept busy between her people on the mainland and co-ordinating with Weir in the city, learning Earth rules and customs and teaching her the Athosian equivalent, and when she wasn’t busy with either of those the Anthropologists wanted to pick her brain about local customs and beliefs. McKay spent most of his time working, on missions or generally keeping Atlantis running, which all together meant Sheppard spent most of his free time alone. No wonder he worked longer hours than anyone else on the city, there was nothing else to do, there wasn’t even an Officer’s Club, not that there were more than a couple of Captains if there had been. Which in turn reminded him that there were in fact a couple of Captains above him in the chain of command who would be called on first anyway, which was kind of a relief by then. Which also reminded him that he should have called one of those officers when he couldn’t contact Sheppard, not run out here his self as instructed by Dr Weir. It was all an awful lot to think about. 

“Ford to Griffin, Captain we have an issue on the East Pier.”  
“Sorry Ford, I’m right here.”

Ford looked helplessly for a moment at the dark red feathery dragon, then tried again.

“Ford to Morrison, Captain we have an issue on the East Pier.”  
“What kind of issue Lieutenant?”  
“One you really have to see for your self sir.”  
“I’ll be right there.”

Ford tapped his radio off and just stood watching the dragons fish for the five minutes it took Captain Morrison to arrive.

“Holy shit!”  
“Pretty much, yeah. And that one’s the Major, and that red one’s Captain Griffin. Oh, and they can talk.”

Morrison stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and taking a deep breath.

“Major Sheppard Sir?”

John threw one last fish in the air and swallowed it whole, glad he could eat so fast in this form if this was how most meals were going to go, sighed and backed away from the ‘river’.

“Don’t mind me, eat your fill while you can. Captain, sleep well last night?”  
“Ah, yes Sir, thank you.”  
“Good, cause you’re gonna need all you can get while running this mad house.”  
“Sir?”  
“It’s not like anyone wanted me in charge here anyway, everyone will be happier with a Marine CO.”

Morrison took a deep breath while looking him in the eye.

“So you are taking your self out of the Chain of Command?”  
“Not like I have a choice.”  
“Right. I was always told Zoomies were high maintenance Prima Donna’s, working under you made me think that was bullshit, but apparently they were right. No Marine on this base, Royal or Rebel, will take any order over yours, not many would have before that storm, but not a one since and the fact you can’t see that worries me. Either you really are even more shit with people than we think you are, or we are not getting our point across as well as Marines usually do. We aren't a subtle breed Sir, and your Jarheads are worse, if we didn’t respect you, you would know it, and if we didn’t want you leading us we would have dealt with it a long time ago, and we sure as fuck wouldn’t have left the pup in your care.”

It was clear when Ford understood that last part, the disgruntled ‘hey!’ made it unmistakable. John was just staring at Morrison in shock.

“So I suggest you finish eating if you haven't already, then try to turn back. I’ll call Dr Beckett…”  
“Here lad.”  
“Ok, how about Dr Biro? Is she here? No? Great, I’ll call her. Ford, I want a list of everyone here so we know who we’re dealing with, name and short description, you’re all pretty different so it shouldn’t be hard to tell you apart. I imagine we have no choice but to inform She Who Must Be Obeyed?”  
“She sent me here Captain.”

Ford piped up from behind him, where he was already writing a list. Morrison glared at him for a long moment. 

“Why, exactly, was a Lieutenant informed of this before me?”

Ford gulped and shrank in on his self at the clipped English accent, and everyone could see why he was still considered a puppy.

“She may be an ignorant Civvie, but you aren't ‘Lieutenant’, you should know better.”  
“Sir yes Sir, no excuse Sir!”

Ford fell back on his basic training, pulling up into attention, eyes forward, praying he wasn’t about to get hauled over the coals in front of everyone. Morrison was pleased with how worried Ford looked, it showed he knew he had cocked up, so he let him stew for a few moments before continuing.

“At Ease Lieutenant. Major, as ranking officer at the time of your resignation, I refuse to accept it, so I suggest you get back on two legs while I assemble the officers in your office, I assume you have some vague recollection of where that is Sir?”  
“Yes Captain, thank you for the necessary kick up the ass Captain.”  
“You’re welcome Sir, you can always count on me for a sound kick up the ass when necessary. Ford, get me that list ASAP. Sergeant, by the amount of clothes on the floor I think we should all retire indoors to allow these folks some privacy. Two of you can stay inside the door and help if needed. Let’s move people!”

Everyone moved. John decided he had eaten enough so he found his pile of clothes and shifted back to his skin, wondering at how easy the shift was as he dressed, too used to barracks living to care who saw him naked. Everyone else was very grateful to the Air Force for that particular training. Within twenty minutes John was in his office along with his senior staff, wondering where the hell he went from here. Morrison shook his head and grinned at him.

“We’ve followed you this long Sir, and I for one don’t want to have to take over this circus and deal with She Who Must Be Obeyed, let’s face it, you have the patience of a saint with that wench, any one of us would have made sure she had an accident by now. As long as you continue leading us the way you have so far, we will continue to follow.”  
“But you will keep an eye on me? Make sure I don’t change too much right?”  
“Of course. Don’t worry, any one of us will put a bullet through your head if you become a threat to the City.”

Morrison spoke with a smile on his face but his eyes were dead serious, John gave him a small grateful smile.

“Thank you Captain.”

Happy that everything was as sorted as it could be, John called Captain Griffin to join them and they started planning, first they would have to figure out what they were now capable of, then they would all have to train, the dragons needed to be ready to fight and the humans needed to get used to fighting with them. 

John looked around the room and smiled in contentment for the first time since before he had been sent to McMurdo, his people trusted him, and he had a good chance at defending them, and that was all he had ever really wanted.

 

Perfectus.


End file.
